Few words could mean the difference between life and death for people, and success or failure for a vital program. Eight little words in a bill that will be voted on in the House this week will severely limit the US’s ability to respond to the AIDS crisis which needlessly claims the lives of over two million people each year.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments about the government spreading AIDS cannot be considered in isolation any more than the disease itself can be. Congress and the White House are contributing to those theories by failing to act on the evidence they have in hand now on PEPFAR.

When it comes to PEPFAR, is Speaker Nancy Pelosi better for women and girls, or is President Bush’s Global AIDS Coordinator, Dr. Mark Dybul? The Democratic Majority seems to be ignoring the pleas of public health experts.

As you American readers prepare to vote for President in November, please remember the women of Africa. Never has the American debate over abortion become clearer to us in Africa than during the Bush administration.